This application is based on applications Nos. Hei 9-320849 and Hei 10-291842 filed in Japan, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention pertains to an image transmitting apparatus such as a facsimile machine or a copying machine having a facsimile function, and to an image forming apparatus connected in a network.
Conventionally, a facsimile is employed to send an image to a distant location by means of transmission lines such as telephone wires. In addition, an apparatus also exists that has a function in which when one set of original image data and data designating the number of sets to be output are sent from the transmitting facsimile, the receiving facsimile outputs the designated number of images.
However, when the conventional facsimile described above is used on the sending side, where the receiving facsimile lacks a function to process the sent data designating the number of sets to be output, the receiving facsimile cannot print out the number of sets designated by the sending side from the one set of original image data.
Even where the receiving facsimile does have a function to process the sent data designating the number of sets to be output, where the receiving facsimile prints out multiple sets of images, the user of the receiving facsimile may determine that multiple sets of identical images were printed by mistake and save only one of the printed sets and discard the rest.
In other words, with conventional facsimile technology, even where the transmitting facsimile (the image transmitting apparatus) sends data to the receiving facsimile designating that multiple sets of identical images are to be printed out, the problem exists that the user of the receiving facsimile cannot correctly understand that multiple sets of identical images have been sent.
The present invention was created to resolve these problems. Its object is to provide an image transmitting apparatus and an image forming apparatus whereby when the image transmitting apparatus transmits to the image forming apparatus data designating that multiple sets of identical images are to be printed, the user of the image forming apparatus can correctly understand that multiple sets of identical images have been sent.
The image transmitting apparatus pertaining to one aspect of the present invention comprises an image transmitting apparatus that sends one set of original image data to the image forming apparatus that forms images based on the original image data and designates the number of sets of images to be formed by the image forming apparatus based on the original image data, wherein the image transmitting apparatus has a transmitting means that, where the image forming apparatus is not capable of forming the designated number of sets of images based on the image data of one set of original images, performs multiple transmissions of the original image data so that the designated number of sets of images will be formed.
With this construction, where the image forming apparatus cannot form the number of designated sets of images based on the single set of original images transmitted, the image transmitting apparatus transmits the original image data multiple times.
As a result, the designated number of sets of images can be formed even where the image forming apparatus is not equipped with a function to process data from the image transmitting apparatus designating that multiple sets of images are to be printed out.
The image transmitting apparatus pertaining to another aspect of the present invention has a transmitting means that, where the original image data is transmitted multiple times in order that the designated number of sets of images will be formed, transmits, in addition to the designated multiple sets of images, image formation data that notifies the image forming apparatus that the image data was transmitted multiple times.
With this construction, where the image transmitting apparatus transmits the original image data multiple times in order that the designated number of sets of images will be formed, the image forming apparatus forms images that indicate in the images based on the original images that one set of original image data was transmitted multiple times.
As a result, the user of the image forming apparatus can recognize that multiple sets of images were formed from one set of original images because the image transmitting apparatus sent the image data multiple times.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate specific embodiments of the invention.